Protective apparatus for bearings



Aug. 5, 1952 P. MOLLER 2,605,359

- I PROTECTIVE APPARATUS FOR BEARINGS A Original Filed Aug. 1, 1947 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR (ZM JIMQM ATTORNEYS Aug. 5, 1952 MOLLER 2,605,859

PROTECTIVE APPARATUS FOR BEARINGS Original Filed Aug 1, 1947 r I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR Pal/Z Moi/er ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 5, 1952 PROTECTIVE APPARATUS FOR BEARINGS Poul Moller, Copenhagen, Denmark, assignor to F. L. Smidth & 00., New York, N. Y., a corpo-' ration of New Jersey Original application August 1, 1947, Serial No.

765,508. Divided and this application June 9,

1949, Serial ,No. 98,150. In Denmark Qctober Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires October 28, 1963 e This invention relates to the lubrication of the bearing surfaces of rotary structures, which are supported for rotation by means of bearing elements, sliding one upon another. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a protective apparatus for the bearing elements including means for preventing'rotation of the structures and relative movement of the bearing elements one upon another, so long as the relatively sliding elements are in metallic contact and there is no lubricant between them.

The subject matter of this application is disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 765,508, filed on August 1, 1947, of which this application is a division.

Installations, of the type disclosed in my aforementioned copending application Serial'No. 765,508, which include heavy rotary structures sliding on bearing surfaces, such as grinding mills,-drying drums and rotary kilns, require the presence of a film of oil between the contacting bearing surfaces throughout operation, and certain forms of bearings. are so constructed that a film of oil is maintained betweenthem; so long as the'structure is in rotation. However, when 3 Claims. (01. 184- 6) such an apparatus stops, the .oil is forced outof the bearings and it is necessary that the'oil film be restored before rotation of the structure is started again. The loss of the oil film between the bearing surfaces of such an installation is most likely to occur in thoseforms of apparatus,

in which there is a long period of idleness between working periods, and, while the operators of such equipment are instructed not: to start them'in operation, until oil has been forced between the bearing surfaces, there is always a risk that the operator will forget to pump the oil to the surfaces or that the oil willnot reach the surfaces because of a defect, in the pumping apparatus. 7 7 The present invention is directed to the provision in such an installation, including a heavy rotating structure, and, in any mechanism in which bearing elementsslide one-upon another,

of means for preventing operation thereof so long as the bearing surfaces are in metallic contact with no oil between them. Ordinarily, such a rotary structure is driven by an electric motor and, in that event, starting ..of themotor until i it is certain that there is an oil film between the bearing, surfaces may .be prevented in various .ways." Thus, a low' voltage protection circuit,

commonly called a no voltage 'circuitfarranged to trip a circuit breaker for'the motor,- may inl elude one ormorecontact devices, which. are

. I ,2. I l, closed only when the bearing surfaces for the structure are separated by an oil fihn,'or when oil has been supplied to the surfaces until a pressure exceeding a selected value'has been built up; Preferably, the no-voltage circuit includes contact devices of both sorts, although either may be used alone.

For a better understanding of. the invention, reference may be made to the; accompanying drawing, in which 1 Fig. l is a transverse sectional view through an installation including part of the circuit connections of the protective apparatus of the invention; J a

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of amodified part of the installation; e 7

Fig.3 is a sectional view 'on the line 3-3 of Fig.1;and

Fig. 4 is a circuit diagram of' the motor control circuits including the protection circuit and appurtenant apparatus.

The rotary structure [0, disclosed in my copending applicationSer. No. 765,508 and shown here as being illustrative of.- an installation in which the apparatus of. thislinvention-may be used, is a rotary grinding mill,lyvhich is supported for rotation on pairs of slideshoes engaging slide rings l2 encircling theidrum. Each shoe restsupon a cylinder l3 mounted on a base member 14 with its axis parallel to the axis of the drum and the shoes are disposed on either side of the vertical axial plane through a drum With the lower ends of their working surfaces spaced above a horizontal plane tangent to their ring l2 at its lowest point. Each ring and its shoes and their bases are enclosed within a casing [5, encircling the drum, and the lower part of the casing is oil-tight and contains a body of oil IS. The level of the oil within thecasing is maintained at such-a height that the oil touches the bottom of ring I2 but does not. reach the lower ends of the workingjsurfaces of the shoes H.

The oil is preferably cooled during the operation I passage through a line 22 connected to a hand um 23 through a distributingvalve 24. A line 25 leads from the interior of casing 15 to the intake of the pump and the height of the intake end of line 2.5, within, the casing is' that at which the oil level in the: casing should be maintained. The valve 24 is so constructed that the oil discharged from the pump is automatically directed alternately into the lines 22 leading to the respective shoes.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, the means for pre venting starting of the drum, when there is no oil film between shoes II and ring l2, includes a transformer 26, the primary 2'! of which can be supplied with current from a suitable current source 28 through a switch 29. Current source 28 may conveniently be derived from power source '52, 53, although it may be independent thereof. A line 30 leading from one endof the secondary 3! of the transformer is connected by a branch line 32 to a contact member 33 bearing against the ring [2. A line 34 connected to the shoes, either directly or through their bases, leads to one end of a solenoid 35, the other end of which is. connected by lines 36, 3? to the other end of a secondary 3i. A'signalla'mp 38 is connected across solenoid 35. A branch line 39 leading from line 3!! is connected to one terminal of an auxiliary switch '49 on the circuit breaker 8, the other terminal of which is connected by line 4| to one end of a solenoid '62. The other end of solenoid 42 is connected by a line 33 to line 31, and through that line to one end of secondary 3i. The above mentioned auxiliary switch 48 is mounted at the circuit breaker 8 for actuation by the initial movement of the circuit breaker so asto close before the main circuit breaker' contacts B can move to closed position The circuit breaker-is of the well-known safety type including the usual overload release coils 3 and a lowvoltage or no-voltage release coil 5, as well as a lock-out. mechanism 4 which prevents manual closure of main contacts 6 when coil 5 is deenergized. r

Each of the oil, lines 22 forsupplying, oil to the shoes has a'branch'leading toapressure gauge 44 and, within each gauge are contacts 44a, which are. closed, whenthe pressure of'oil' acting on the gaugeexceeds a selected value. The contactswithin the gauges are in series in the no-voltage circuit of the circuit breaker of the motor 1 which drives the drum, the circuit starting from terminal 45 and including line'dfi, the gauge switch contacts 44a, a normally closed solenoid switch filoperable by the plmiger of solenoid 35, a normally open solenoid switch 48 operable by plunger 42a of solenoid 32, and line 49 leading to terminal 58.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. a line 22' leads from the distributing valve 2 associated with pump 23f to each slideshoe, and, in each line 22', there is a tank'EiQto which a pressure gauge M is' connected. With this arrangement, excessive oscillation: of the auge in rhythm with the strokes' ofthe pump is prevented'by thejdampin'g effect of tank til; it is understood that gaugej i l includes contacts 4 l the ring to the shoe in metallic contact therewith and then through line 3 to solenoid 35. The current causes the solenoid to be energised, so that switch 41 in the 'no-vcltag'ecircuit of the circuit breaker 8 of the motor l" is opened and the motor can not be started. Lamp 38 is also lighted, warning the operator that the shoe lubrication is deficient.

The operator then operates pump 23 to pump oil to the shoes and, when therpressure oi the oil supplied to both shoes exceeds the values for which the gauges are set, the gauge contacts l la in the no-voltage circuit of the circuit breaker are automatically closed. The operator can tell when the desired pressure has been reached by reference to the gauge needles and, when there is a film or" oil between both shoes and ring E2, the circuit through solenoid 35 is deenergized and switch c? in the no-voltage circuit is closed. The novoltage circuit is still open, however, because the circuit through solenoid s2 is not closed at switch 40, and switch 43 in the no-voltage cir-' cuit remains open, until solenoid s2 is energized. When the pumping of the oil has been completed, the operator, by moving handle 3, starts to close contacts 6 of the circuit breaker, through which current is supplied to the motor from power source 5], 5'2, 53 and, in the. initial part of the closing operation, switch 5.8 is closed. This causes solenoid 42 to be energized closing switch 58, and the no-voltage circuit is then completed to the two outside legs 5|, 53 or" the power source. The closing of the circuit breaker is then completed and the motor starts to operate. In accordance with usual practice, it isassumed that a suitable starting resistance may be connected to the rotor of the motor, if desired.

The'utmost protection against damage to the bearing surfaces of the installationis provided by utilizing the circuit established through the bearing surfaces, when they are not separated by the oil film, and employing contacts in the no-voltage circuit of the circuit breaker, which are controlled by the oil pressure gauges, but

either of theseexpedients may be employed alone.

The use of the circuit established by metallic contact between the bearing surfaces provides protection not only at the starting of a working period but also throughout operation, since the circuit breaker of the motor will be "opened by spring 2 upon opening of its no voltage circuit resulting, for example, fromleakage of the oil 'erator to start the motor without closing switch 28. Until switch 29 'is'closed, the no-voltage circuit of the circuit breaker is normally closed which are connected int-he manner that contacts 44a are connected in'Figge. v I V 7 When the operator desires to start rotation of drum Ill; he first closes switch 29 andconnected to the current source'23,"current passes from lines so and 32 to contact as and "ring :2, 1 If the ring and either shoe is in metallic contact,

because of theabsence of a lubricating filmbethe secondary 3l of the transformerZdjthrough a through switch l- 'l-but normally openat switch 48; Thus, if solenoid 42 and switch 38 were omitted and no gauge contacts lia were employed, the no-voltage circuit would be established if the bearing surfaces were in metallic contact and switch Ziiwere notclose'd.

As pointed out'above; the intake end of pipe 25 leading to the pump lies attl le' level; at which the oil should be maintained. within casing 15. If'the' oil fallsbelow thatlevel and the operator attemptstopump oil to the bearings", the. pump can nottake in any oil and no oil will be supplied to shoes ll. The operator will then realize that the body of oil within the casing needs replenishing. When the oil is at the proper level within the casing, the ring I2 continuously picks up oil which serves to maintain the films between the ring and shoes H. Excessive oil may then be removed from the sides of the ring by springpressed scrapers 52 mounted at any convenient place within the casing.

I claim:

1. In an installation including a motordriven rotary structure and means for supplying electric power to the motor, including a power source, a circuit breaker of the type having a lie-voltage release coil and a protection circuit which must be closed before the circuit breaker can be closed to start the motor and which must also be closed to hold the circuit breaker closed, said circuit including said coil'and being energized from said power source, the combination of noid switch and operable by the circuit breaker to close before the circuit breaker closes, and means including second switch means for simultaneously connecting said current source to said solenoid circuit and to the solenoid of said lastnained solenoid switch, wherebysaid protection circuit is automatically open when said bearing surfaces are in metallic contact or when the solenoid of said last-named solenoid switch is disconnected from said current source.

3. In an installation including a motordriven' rotary structure and means for supplying electric power to themotor, including a power source, a circuit breaker of the type having a novoltage release coil and a protection circuit which a must be closed before the circuit breaker can be a circumferential bearing on the structure, a statonary bearing engaging the circumferential bearing and supporting the structure, the bearings having surfaces sliding one uponthe other during rotation of the structure, means for supplying oil under pressure to the bearing surfaces, and means for releasing the circuit breaker to disconnect the power source from the motor, including a normally closed solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, means for opening said switch including a solenoid circuit closed through said bearing surfaces when they are in metallic contact with no oil between them, a current source for said solenoid circuit, a normally open solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, the last-named solenoid switch being energizable by current from said current source to close the normally open switch, and means including switch means connected in series with the solenoid of said last-named switch and operable by the circuit breaker to close before the circuit breaker closes.

2. In an installation including a motordriven rotary structure and means for supplying electric power to the motor, including a power source, a circuit breaker of the type having a novoltage release coil and a protection circuit which must be closed before the circuit breaker can be closed to start themotor and'which must also be closed to hold the circuit breaker closed, saidcircuit including said coil and being energized from said power source, the combination of a circumferential bearing on the structure, a stationary bearing engaging the circumferential bearing and supporting the'structure, the bearings having surfaces sliding one upon the other during rotation of the structure, means for supplying oil under pressureto the bearing surfaces, and means for releasing the circuit breaker to disconnect the power source from the motor, including a normally closed solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, means for opening said switch including a solenoid circuit closed through said bearing surfaces when they are in metallic contact with no oil between them, a current source for said solenoid circuit, a normally open solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, the last-named solenoid switch being energizable by current from said current source to close the normally open switch, first switch means connected in series with the solenoid of said last-named soleclosed to start the motor and which must also be closed to hold the circuit breaker closed',said circuit including said coil and being energized from said power source, the combination of a circumferential bearing on the structure, a stationary bearing engaging the circumferential bearing and supporting the structure, the bear-. ings having surfaces sliding one upon the other during rotation of the structure, means for supplying oil under pressure to the bearing surfaces, pressure-indicating means connected to the oil supply means, and means for releasing the circuit breaker to disconnect the power source from the motor, including a normally closed solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, means for opening said solenoid switch including a solenoid circuit closed through said bearing surfaces when they are in contact with no oil between them, indicating means connected to said solenoid circuit to indicate when said circuit is energized and thus when saidbearings are unlubricated, said pressure-indicating means including pressure-actuated switching means connected in series in said protection circuit and responsive to the oil pressure in said oil supply means to close only when the oil pressure to the bearings exceeds a selected value, a current source for said solenoid circuit, a normally open solenoid switch connected in series in said protection circuit, the last-named solenoid switch being energizable by current from said current source to close the normally open solenoid switch, first switch means connected in series with the solenoid of said last-named solenoid switch and operable by the circuit breaker to close before the circuit breaker closes, and means including second switch means'for simultaneously connecting said current source to said solenoid circuit and to the solenoid of said last-named solenoid switch, whereby said protection circuit is automatically open when said bearing surfaces are in bearing contact or when the solenoid of said last-named solenoid switch is disconnected from said current source.

POUL MULLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,143,533 Archea Jan. 1 0, 1939 V FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 380,876 Germany Sept. 13, 1923 64,666 Denmark July 29, 1946 

